Of Course, Progress Report Cards To Parents Are An Essential Service !

After all, it is the parents who are ultimately responsible for the education of their children. If parents have chosen to send their kid to a government school, then said government school has to keep parents informed — parents then can choose to stay, advocate for more services, get supplementary tutoring, or choose an independent school or home educate. That’s how parents make “informed decisions” in the best interests of their child.

What happened in the last teacher strike in 2011-2012 school year was lamentable and illegal. Report cards were withheld or blank ones were sent home by mail. Those that were withheld had the LRB to thank for granting BCTF teachers permission to do so. Those school districts that sent home blank report cards felt they were following the letter of the law, bizarre as it was to do so — and costly.

In the 17th Century Montesquieu evolved the principle of “separation of powers” so that governments could be set up “so that no man need be afraid of another”. The principle has become the basis for many governments to this day.

The three powers of government — legislative, executive and judicial — were to be clearly defined so that no one branch could usurp power. Checks and balances evolved.

However, the 21st Century has seen the emergence of a new absolute power in the form of public sector unions — a parallel fourth branch of government. They usurp power through aggressive collective bargaining and ongoing rent-seeking. Collective bargaining is hardly bargaining in any everyday sense because it is secretive and in the end amounts to appeasement for the sake of labor peace. Rent-seeking is a term rarely used due to its dual meanings, but in economics it means the privileges lobbies enjoy as they gain government favors, and consequently, government worker unions are extra privileged because of working within government itself.

I am sure someone else could say this much better and provide more analysis. But, in my view, it’s this fourth branch of government that is usurping power, bankrupting our societies, and distorting what good governance is about.

This despotism — actually, a non-violent invasion — should not be something we helplessly endure.The three powers of government — legislative, executive and judicial — were to be clearly defined so that no one branch could usurp power. Checks and balances evolved.

However, the 21st Century has seen the emergence of a new absolute power in the form of public sector unions — a parallel fourth branch of government. They usurp power through aggressive collective bargaining and ongoing rent-seeking. Collective bargaining is hardly bargaining in any everyday sense because it is secretive and in the end amounts to appeasement for the sake of labor peace. Rent-seeking is a term rarely used due to its dual meanings, but in economics it means the privileges lobbies enjoy as they gain government favors, and consequently, government worker unions are extra privileged because of working within government itself.

I am sure someone else could say this much better and provide more analysis. But, in my view, it’s this fourth branch of government that is usurping power, bankrupting our societies, and distorting what good governance is about.

This despotism — actually, a non-violent invasion — should not be something we helplessly endure.

In the Eastern Bloc under Communism this phenomenon was called the Nomenklatura. Loses in the translation but equivalent to our public sector Sunshine List ! Beware of the socialist nanny state – those who claim to look after you will in fact look after themselves first – as exemplified by our public sector unions and the politicians they in effect control …. ]